Control device



Jan. 5, 1943. E. w. RICKMEY'ER 1 CONTROL DEVICE FiledFeB. 7, 1940 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 1943- E. w. RICKMEYER 2,307,731-

CONTROL DEVICE Filed Feb. "7, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 il ma I w l Jan. 5, 1943. E. w. RXCKMEY ER 2,307,731

CONTROL DEVICE Filed Feb. 7, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan. 5, 1943. w K R 2,307,731

I CONTROL DEVICE Filed Feb. 7, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jill/@7253]? rzwtflterwmgef Patented Jan. 5, 1943 UNI'X/IED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTROL DEVICE Ernst Walter Rickmeyer, Elmhurst, 111., assignor to Jeflferson Electric Company, Beilwood, ill, a corporation of Illinois Application February '7, 1949, Serial No. 311K773 7 Claims. (Cl. 200-83) This. invention relates to control devices, and more particularly to control devices which are actuated in response to a predetermined factor and are adapted to effect control of another factor in response to the flrst.

In the disclosed embodiments of this invention, the control devices are actuated in response to fluid pressure and are adapted to control an electrical circuit.

It is an object of this invention to provide a compact fluid pressure responsive switch which is dependable in operation and which embodies contact means operable with a snap action for controlling an electrical circuit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a switch actuated by fluid pressure which is adapted to be easily and quickly adjusted to vary the pressures at which the switch operates without appreciably changing the differential between the operating pressures.

Another object of this invention isto provide a switch adapted to be actuated by fluid pressure and having a mechanism so constructed and arranged that the parts of the control mechanism act directly upon one another.

Another object of this invention is to provide a control device adapted to be actuated by fluid pressure and also adapted, by the changing of one part, to have the range of operating pressures and/or the differential between operating pressures varied.

Another object of this invention is to provide a control device adapted to be actuated by fluid pressure and which, by the change of only a 'few parts, is adapted to efiect control in response to fluid pressures above or below atmospheric pressure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fluid pressure responsive switch in which a single manual adjustment alters the operating pressures of the switch and at the same time correspondingly varies the differential between the operating pressures.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fluid pressure responsive switch which is adapted,

by the change of a few parts, to the use of either mercury or mechanical contacting elementsior controlling an electrical circuit.

Other objects and advantages of this invention 7 the section taken substantially on a line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view with the section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views with the sections taken substantially on lines 55 and 6-6 respectively of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 3 except that it illustrates different operating positions of the parts;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to that shown in Fig. 4, but illustrates a device which embodies a modification of a portion of the structure; I

Figs. 9 and 10 are views similar to Figs. 3 and 7 respectively, but illustrate a modified form of the portion of the switch structure.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional view with the section taken substantially on the line Ill| of Fig. 9 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 12 and 13 are perspective views of parts of the illustrated control device;

Fig. 14 is a side view of a device incorporating a modification of this invention and has portions shown in section to clarify the disclosure of the structural features of the device.

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary end view of a portion of the device shown in Fig. 14 with parts thereof in section to emphasize the structural features thereof;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary side view of the device shown in Fig. 14 which indicates different operating positions of parts of the device;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the device shown in Figs. 14, 15 and 16.

Throughout the several views illustrating this invention and modifications thereof, like reference numerals. refer to similar parts. Having particular reference to Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, a control device which is indicated generally at 20 has a base 22, actuating means 23 which in this instance includes a flexible diaphragm 24, a control mecahnism 25, a support 26, and switch means 21 which in this embodiment is adapted to includes. mercury switch contacting device which is indicated by dot and dash lines at 28 in Figs. 1 and 5. A housing or cover 29 encloses the control mechanism 25, support 23 and switch means 21. The base 22 has an integral cupped or recessed portion 33 adjacent one side of the flexible diaphragm 24 to provide a chamber 3| adiacent one side of the portion of the'diaphragm which is adapted to flex. A cupped member 33 having a flange 34 is secured to the base 22 opposite the cupped or recessed portion 33 by screws or fastening means 35 to provide a chamber 33 on the opposite side of the diaphragm 24 from the chamber II. A coupling 31 is secured in an opening 33 in the cupped member 33, and is threaded at 33 to provide means for connecting the chamber 33 to a suitable or desired source of controlling fluid pressure. An oriflce disc 43 having aligned communicating openings 4i and 42 which are preferably concentric with and smaller than the threaded opening 33 is preferably secured in a recess 44 in the coupling 31 to restrict fluid flow to and from the chamber 33 and thereby limit sudden fluctuations of the diaphragm 24 7 due to sudden variations in fluid pressure.

A stud 45 is slidably mounted in an opening 43 in the base 22, preferably concentric with respect to the flexible portion of the diaphragm 24, and

has a disc 41 secured to the end thereof which rests against the surface of the diaphragm 24. A rack 43 is slidably mounted in a channel 43 which is preferably integrally formed in the support 23. This rack has a portion 53 of reduced section at one end thereof which flts into a recore 52 in the end of the stud 45. A portion 53 of reduced section at theother end of the rack extends through an opening 54 in a plate 55 which has integral upturned lugs 53 thereon and provides a support for one end of a coiled compression spring 51.

A pair of support posts 53 and 53 each have one end secured to the base 22 and are preferably located on opposite sides of the stud 45 and rack 43. An anchor plate 33 extends between and is secured to the other ends of the support posts 53 and 53 by nuts or fastening means 32 or 33 which are threaded onto. the ends of the support posts. An offset arm 34 is integral with the anchor plate 33 and has the cover or housing 23 secured thereto'by a screw or suitable fastening means 35. An adjusting screw 33 has a head portion 31 which extends through an opening 33 and the anchor plate 33 and has an integral flange 33 which engages the lower surface of the anchor plate. A nut 13 is threaded onto the adjusting screw 33 and engages a plate 12 which locates the end of the spring 51 opposite the plate 55. Lugs 13 on the plate 12 hold the spring. 51 in place. The out 13 is preferably secured to the plate 12 so that rotation of the. adjusting screw 33 adjusts the position of the plate 12 and the compression or force of the spring 51. The plates 55 and 12 preferably have bifurcated ends which straddle the support posts 53 and 53 and are slidable with respect thereto.

A pinion gear 14 is secured to a shaft 15 which is rotatably supported by the support 23 with the teeth of the gear meshing with teeth 13 on the rack 43. The shaft 15 extends through openings in the support 23 adjacent the channel 43 and is held in place by a head 11 on one end thereof and a cotter pin 13 which extends through the other end thereof, or by other suitable means. A lever arm 13 is pressed onto and secured to a collar 33 which is preferably integral with one side of the pinion gear 14 and-is rotatable with pinion 14 and shaft 15.

pivotal support for a switch toggle element 33;

the toggle element 33 having edges such as 33 which are preferably sharp resting in the crotch of the substantially V-shaped notches 33 and 31. The sides of the notches 33 and 31 provide stops for limiting the angular movement of the toggle element 33. A tension spring 33 extends through an opening 32 in the toggle element 33 and through an opening 33 in the lever arm 13 to affect snap movement of the toggle element in response to movements of the lever arm when the action line of the spring 33 crosses the pivotal support axis of the toggle element 33.

A bracket is preferably integral with one side of the toggle element 33 and has a clamp element 35 secured thereto by a screw or fastening means 33. A hooked end 31 of the clamping element 35 extends through an opening in one end of a strap 33 and the other end of the strap 33 is secured to the other end of the clamping element 35 by a screw or fastening means 33, so that the clamp 35 and strap 33 provide a clamp or support for securing the mercury switch is to the toggle element '33 for movement therewith.

A scale I33 which may be calibrated in suitable units for a particular control device is adjustably secured to the support post 53 by a screw or fastening means I32. calibrations, such as those indicated at I33 are of a proper or suitable value to correspond to the range provided by the characteristics of the spring 51. Integral clamping lugs I34 are preferably provided for securing the scale I33 to the support post 53, and the position The support 23 has integral feet 32 which are of the scale is preferably such that the ends of the plate 12 provide an indicator or pointer for indicating the adjustment of the device with respect to the scale I33.

A terminal block I35 of insulating material is secured to the support 23 by screws or fastening means I33, and is provided with suitable binding posts, not shown, for anchoring lead wires and making electrical connections to the switch. A conduit coupling I33 is secured in an opening I01 and the cover 23 to facilitate the wiring of the device through conduit. A re-enforcing plate I33 is preferably provided adjacent the inner surface of the cover 23 to strengthen the connection of the coupling thereto.

The switch illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive has a compression spring 51, and is thereby adapted to be actuated by pressures above atmospheric; while the switch in Fig. 8 is modified to include a tension spring H3 and for actuation by pressures below atmospheric pressure. In this modification a collar II2 having a flanged edge H3 is secured to the plate 12 and a collar II4 having a flanged edge 5 is secured to the portion 53 of the rack 43. The lengths of the collars are such that a predetermined number of turns of the spring II3 surround the collars and the flanges H3 and H5 extend between the turns of mercury switch contacting device which is illusillustrated in Figs. 9 to 13 inclusive, the switching or electrical-control is accomplished by mechanical or open contacts, rather than by the trated in the previously described figures. In this form of the device, movable contact bridging elements I28 and.I2I which respectively carry contacts I 22 and I23 are carried by insulating arms I24 and I25. The arms I24 and I25 are secured in channels I28 and I21 respectively by screws or fastening means. I28 and I28. The channels I28 and I21 are preferably integrally formed on opposite sides of the toggle element 88. The contacts I22 and I23 are in alignment with and adapted to engage stationary contacts I38 and I32 respectively. which stationary contacts are secured-to terminal piecesI33 and I34 respectively and supportedby an insulating terminal block I35. The terminal block I35 is socured to the base 22 by screws or fastening means I38 which extend through lugs I31. on the base and are threaded. into the terminal block. Screws I38 and I38 having cooperating nuts I48 and I4I respectively provide binding posts on the terminals I33 and I34 to which lead wires such as I42 and I43 may be anchored.

As illustrated in Figures 10 and 13 the movable contact bridging elements I28 and I2I preferably have integral cross arms I43 and substantially U-shaped support arms I44. Lugs I45 are provided on the end of the U-shaped arm I44 opposite the cross arm I43 which straddle the arms I24 and I25 for securing the respective contact bridging elements thereto. Rivets or fastening means such as I48 extend through the lugs I45 and the arms for fastening the contact bridging elements thereto. The contacts I22 and I23 are carried at the ends of the cross arms I43 and are adapted to bridge a pair of stationary contacts I38 or .I32. The substantially U-shaped support arm provides resilience in the contact support. Since the arms I24 and I25 are secured on opposite sides of the toggle element 88,

g the support 28 has only one foot 82 and is cut away at I41 to provide room for the swinging movement of the contact bridging elements I28 and I2I.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 14 to 17 inclusive, a cam means is provided for effecting control of the switch means to correspond to the adjustment of the spring and thereby control of the difierential between the operating pressures. The cam means I58 has an extending arm II and a curved cam surface I52, which cam surface servesas a stop for limiting movement of the toggle element 88in one direction. A shaft I53 extends through lugs I54 on a support bracket I55 and lugs I58 on the arm I5I to rotata-bly support the cam means I58 with respect to the support bracket I55. bracket I55 is secured to the support 28 by a rivet or fastening means I51 in a position such that the curved portion ofthe cam means I58 is between the notches 88 and 81 and the cam surface I52 is in the path of movement of the toggle element 88. A spring I58 is coiled around the shaft- I53 and has one end'anchored on a projecting lug I58 and the other end pressing against the surface of the extending arm I5I to bias the cam means in one directionabout the axis of the shaft I53. The extending arm I5I is notched at I8I and has curved fingers I88 at the sides of the notch. The adjusting screw 88 extends through the notch I8I in spaced relation with respect to the fingers I88, and the fingers I88 The supp are biased against the surface of the plate 12 by the spring I58. Due to the biasing force of the spring I58, the cam means I58 follows m0vements of the plate 12 which are effected by the adjustment of the adjusting screw 88. The shape of the cam surface I52 controls the variation in the position of stopping the movement of the toggle element 88 which is effected by adjustment of the adjusting screw. The stop for the toggle element 88 which is provided by the cam surface I52 limits the movement of the toggle element in one direction and thereby decreases the necessary angular movement of the arm 18 for effecting movement of the toggle element from its position of rest against the cam surface I52. This controls the diiferential between theoperating pressuresof the device for a given control spring such as 51 or I I8. In the disclosed device, the cam surface I52 is so shaped In the structure and operation of the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is desirable that the parts comprising the control mechanism, and particularly the disc 41, stud 45, rack 48, adjusting screw 88 and the action line of the control spring 51 or lI8 should be in substantial alignment. This simplifies the structure by the elimination of additional linkages which are necessary if the parts are not in alignment. It is also preferable that the axis of alignment of'the parts of the control mechanism are substantially coaxial with respect to the center of the flexible diaphragm 24. This provides maximum movement for a given flexure of the diaphragm.

When a source of actuating fluid presure is connected to-the control device through the coupling 31, the pressure within the chamber 38 and the force of the spring 51 or II8 control the position and flexure-of the flexible diaphragm 24. Movement of the-diaphragm which is effected by the change of fluid pressure in the chamber 38 moves the rack 48, pinion '14 and lever arm 19 to actuate the toggle element 88. The toggle element 88 moves from one of its positions of rest to the other with snap action to control the contact means which may be either the mercury tube contact device 28, contact bridging elements I28 and I2I or other suitable circuit controlling instrumentalities.

With the structure disclosed, it is a relatively simple and easy matter to change the spring 51 or II8 to thereby change the pressure rating or calibration of the switch structure. The calibration of the scale I88 should, of course, correspond to the spring which is in use on the device and should be set to a proper position for indicating the operating pressure to which the device is adapted. 3

Since some movement of the control mechanism is required for effecting actuation of the toggle element from one of its positions of rest to the other, there is a differential between the operating pressures which effect movement of the toggle element in the opposite directions. For a given spring 51 or I I8, and when a cam means such as that shown in Figs. 14 to '17 inclusive is not used, the differential between the operating pressures remains practically constant for different settings of the spring tension which are eilfected by adjustment of the screw 88. The adjustment of the screw 68 does, of course, change the operating pressures of the device within limits 0 a particular spring 51 or 0. The structure disclosed in Figs. 14 to 17 inclusive is utilized where control of the differential between the operating pressures is desired and this structure provides a control which is automatically ef fected at the time the, pressure control is adjusted.

While the embodiment of the present invention which i herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all of which come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. A control device comprising, in combination, a flexible diaphragm, means supporting said diaphragm so. that flexure thereof is eflected by variations in fluid pressure, a rack, means slidably supporting the rack, an actuating stud engaging the rack and movable responsive to flexure of the diaphragm, a coil spring adapted to control movements of the rack efl'ected by flexure of the diaphragm, means for adjusting the normal force of the coil spring, said actuating stud, said rack and the action line of said coil spring being substantially in alignment and concentric with respect to said diaphragm, a switch element pivotally supported for movement to two positions, a pinion cooperatively associated with said rack, a lever arm controlled by the pinion, and a spring connecting the lever arm and switch element so that movements of the lever arm move the switch element to and from said two positions with snap action.

2. A control device comprising, in combination, a flexible diaphragm, means supporting said diaphragm so that flexure thereof is effected by variations in fluid pressure, a rack, means slidably supporting the rack, an actuating stud engaging the rack and movable responsive to flexure oi the diaphragm, a coil spring adapted to control movements of the rack effected by flexure of the diaphragm, means for adjusting the normal force. of the coil spring, said actuating stud, said rack and the action line of said coil spring being substantially in alignment and concentric with respect to said diaphragm, a pinion cooperatively associated with said rack, and switch means operated by movements of the pinion.

3. A control device comprising, in combination, a base, support means secured to the base, a flexible diaphragm supported by the base so that flexure thereof i efiected by variations in fluid pressure, a rack supported by said support means for linear movement with respect thereto, means intermediate the rack and diaphragm and connecting said rack and diaphragm so that flexure of the diaphragm moves the rack, a spring biasing the rack in one direction, means for adjusting the normal force of the spring, the axis of movement of said rack and the action line of said spring being substantially concentric with respect to the diaphragm, a pinion rotatably supported by said support means in cooperative relation with respect to the rack and actuated by movement of the rack, switch means rotatably supment of the switch member responsive to movelusting the normal force of the spring, a pinion rotatably supported by said support means and adapted to be actuated by movement of the rack, movable switch means supported by the support means, a switch actuating member actuated by the pinion, and means efiecting snap movement of the movable switch means responsive to movements of the switch actuating member.

5. A control device comprising, in combination, a base, support means secured to the base, fluid pressure responsive means supported by the base, a rack movably supported by the support means,

means connecting the rack and pressure responsive means so that movement of the pressure responsive means moves the rack, support posts adjacent the rack and secured to the base, a spring supported between said posts for controlling movements of the rack, means for adjusting the normal force of the spring, a pinion rotatably supported by said support means and adapted to be actuated by movement of the rack. movable switch means supported by the support means, a switch actuating member actuated by the pinion, and means efiecting snap movement of the movable switch means responsive to movements of the switch actuating member.

- 6. In a control device, the combination comprising, support means having a channel, a rack slidably mounted for linear movement in said channel, a pinion rotatably supported by said support means and meshing with the rack, a switch control arm' secured to said pinion, a switch member pivotaily supported by said support means and having contact means adapted to be actuated thereby, and a spring connecting said switch control arm and switch member for efiecting snap movement of the switch member responsive to movements of the switch control arm.

'7. In a control device, the combination comprising, support means having a channel, a rack slidably mounted for linear movement in said channel, a pinion rotatably supported by said support means and meshing with the rack, a switch control arm secured to said pinion, a switch member pivotaily supported by said support means and having contact means adapted to be actuated thereby, a spring connecting said switch control arm and switch member for efiecting snap movements of the switch control arm and adjustable cam means rotatably secured to said support means for stopping movement of the switch member in one direction.

ERNST WALTER RICKMEYER. 

